This post contains affiliate links, meaning any purchases made using these links will earn Taz + Belly a small commission. You can read more about our affiliate relationships here.
six months as of March 5, 2019
I’m a two full weeks late posting Polly’s monthly update, but our life has been so full the last few weeks, that I’m struggling to stay on track! I kept her home from school yesterday and today, and despite how crummy she’s feeling, Ella managed to make her smile long enough to snap a few photos to celebrate her half birthday. HOW are we half-way to a year already?! These baby days are ticking by faster than we could have imagined and we are doing everything we can to soak her up!
Height + Weight: Polly had her six month checkup a few weeks ago and it’s always so fun to see how much she’s grown. She weighed 16 lbs and 14 ounces — up from just over 14 pounds at her four month checkup. She has filled out so much in the last few months, I was sure she would weigh even more than that! Her length and head circumference is still right at the 50th percentile, even though I can never remember those exact numbers (and currently, have no idea where the paperwork is…).
Clothes: We’re still wearing mostly 6-12 months clothes these days, but it definitely depends on the brand. My philosophy for dressing babies has dramatically changed since the big girls were babies and I gravitate towards sleepers and soft knits over fussy baby styles. During the day, we send her to “school” in snap sleepers or easy pajamas. Kate Quinn Organics and Milkbarn are two of our favorite brands for Polly, but I tend to wait for big sales to stock up. KQO has great sample sales after their new lines drop and I was lucky enough to stock up on MB on Zulily a few weeks ago. I’ve always been the girl handing clothes down to friends and family, so I love that we’re inheriting all of my niece’s outgrown pieces this time around. Since we have more hand-me-downs than we can possibly wear, I’m only adding a few things that I really love, each season.
Sleep: Sleep is still touch and go, although it has improved a ton from last month. She still cries when I put her in her crib at night, but it only takes 5-7 minutes to get her to calm down and sleep. I wish I could tell you we were back to sleeping through the night, but she’s still getting up once or twice to nurse. It’s funny, because every time we make strides in this area, she gets a cold or learns something new. I’m sure she’ll sleep before she goes off to college, so I’m trying not to stress about it too much.
Schedule: Not much has changed about our schedule since last month. Now that we’re incorporating solid foods at dinner, she usually has a shorter nursing session when I first get home from work and then I nurse her again closer to bedtime. She was going down at 7 o’clock before the time change, but we’ve backed it up to eight o’clock for now and that seems to be working better. We’re finally taking longer naps — we usually have one hour long nap, another two hour nap, and a few 15-20 minute cat naps during the day.
Health: We don’t have much to report here, other than a nasty cold that we keep passing back and forth!
Crying: Polly is still not much of a crier, but she’s been a lot fussier with this current cold. I did tell Josh yesterday that when she first wakes up from nap and I go in our room to pick her up, she cries super hard, like she’s trying to punish me for leaving her. It is the funniest thing!
Likes: Polly still likes her mama the very best, but that’s probably because I never put her down and insist we’re best friends. She also really likes steamed broccoli, mandarin oranges, and big sips of water. Her favorite toy is a squeaky elephant teether that she got for Christmas and she loves sitting in her walker and scooting around our house. She’s still working on moving more than a few paces, but she gets better every time she tries.
Dislikes: She hates it when she’s playing independently and I walk too far away — we’re working on her stamina! She’s also just mobile enough to move around, but gets stuck all the time and that makes her SO MAD. She’s playing in the floor next to me while I write this post and she’s gotten stuck with her arm underneath her, no less than five times. I think it’s hilarious, but it makes her pretty mad.
Milestones: I haven’t been as good about writing down all of the little moments this month, but she started sitting up independently and can hold her balance for a really long time! We use a floor pillow when she’s going to be sitting unassisted for more than a few minutes, but she gets better every day. We’ve also tried so many new foods and she’s doing well with Baby Led Weaning. If you’ve read anything about it, you’ll know that in the beginning they are playing with food more than actually eating it, but it’s still really cool to watch! We’ve tried broccoli, avocado, green beans, sweet potatoes, bananas, greek yogurt, oatmeal, peanut butter/avocado toast, blueberries, and cheddar cheese.
Places She’s Been: Aside from the doctor, we haven’t been anywhere new this month. She did attend Ella’s dance competition on Saturday, which was a lot of fun. I took her with us and wore her in the Wildbird until Josh and my parents got there and she stayed with them during Ella’s performances and rode home with Josh before awards. It wasn’t nearly as complicated as I envisioned, but we only have two more to go this season! We’re headed out to camp for Spring Break next week, so I should have something fun to share for this prompt next month.
Special Moments: I hate to say we haven’t had any special moments with Polly this month, because we feel like every moment in this new season is special, but March has been a pretty typical month for us. Ella tried out for the cheerleading squad at her middle school and despite being super nervous about making the team, had the highest JV score and ended up captain of her squad! She also had a great competition on Saturday and her team got super high marks and won the highest tap routine of the weekend. Those aren’t really Polly-centric, but they were still pretty special to celebrate as a family.
Mama, Daddy + Big Sisters:
Yesterday, Ella was holding her after school, and Polly tucked her head under her chin to snuggle and I thought Ella would lose it. Every day together is sweeter and our three girls are thriving, even though the age gap can seem so far apart some days. It’s weird to have a cheer meeting and a six month pediatrician visit in the same day — it takes a major mental shift — but it’s also the most fun ever. The girls enjoy her more and more, with every passing day. The more responsive and interactive she is, the easier it is for them all to spend time together. They still don’t love “babysitting” for more than a few minutes at a time, but I’m forcing their hand in that area, because I know it’s good for them all.
Josh is still super dad — he always has been. He didn’t skip a beat, transitioning from teenager dad to baby dad, and that stability is so good for me. He’s taking on extra chores and continuing to be the chauffeur for our family, which really helps keep our evenings on track. He’s so good with Polly and she lights up when he walks into the room. He jokes with me about how I don’t share her or how she loves me best, but I know he’s just giving me a hard time. It’s been hard not having as much time to spend together, but we’re looking forward to being old and home alone, someday far in the future. All of our plans look more like Disney World and family camping trips, than European vacations, and I can’t think of anybody I’d rather theme park with than him.
I’m still struggling in some areas, but I think that’s to be expected after any major life change. I want to say that “I don’t have time to workout right now,” but I know that isn’t entirely true. I have the same number of hours in the day as I did last year, I just want to spend them differently right now. I know that the time will come when I don’t have a tiny baby at home to snuggle, so I’m prioritizing slow and easy days. I’m sure I’ll complain about my body this summer, so remind me that I choose Polly over muscular legs, okay? So many of the projects we’ve done over the last few months have helped me feel more like myself, mentally. I have our finances the most in order they’ve been in years and we’re getting super close to being done with the mortgage process. We’re spending next week camping for spring break and our home is starting to feel more like us. What I’m trying to say is, life is really good.
